"People need to realize that 75 percent of everything we raise stays here, going to local organizations,'' said Jennifer Jurgens, executive director of Susan G. Komen West Michigan. "The people that use those funds are all around us, in our neighborhood and in our families. That is the first thing I want people to know: that we're helping our community.''

Newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients can feel isolated, alone and sometimes lost until they connect with resources like Komen West Michigan. Komen connects people with resources: helping patients find medical help and helping organizations obtain funding to support education, screening and diagnostics.

The "Alive'' campaign (starting this summer and continuing through 2013) uses traditional as well as social media and videos to show and tell that local impact: the stories of local women (as well as men) and how Komen helped make a difference.

"I had the freedom of choice because I knew I had comprehensive health insurance,'' said Jurgens, who lost her mother to breast cancer at a young age then survived it herself due to early detection. "What draws me to this organization is the local impact. The money that we're raising is helping my friends who don't have great insurance get breast health services including mammograms, biopsies and even genetic testing. And in doing so, we're helping save lives.''

Komen West Michigan Board President Carol Perschbacher, herself a 12 year survivor of breast cancer, has seen the progress first hand.

"We've got some wonderful medical facilities here: so many more opportunities that we didn't have 12 years ago,'' Perschbacher said. "We've been very blessed in West Michigan. I'm especially proud of the brave men and women that have stepped up and shared their very personal stories of survival. It's not easy to re-live a cancer journey, but we all believe that our stories of survival will help save more lives in our community.''

For more information on how to get involved in the fight against breast cancer, including ways to donate, individuals can visit www.komenwestmichigan.org To view the survivor stories and learn more about Komen's local impact, visit www.alivewestmichigan.org